How can we control our negative thoughts? A piece written by Inc.com’s Justin Bariso (see link below) has ideas as to how to gain control of how long thoughts, especially negative ones, stay at top of mind. I love the tags they have given these thoughts: White Bear Problem and The Blue Dolphin Rule.
The White Bear Problem refers to when we tell ourselves, or others tell us, not to think about something. It turns out that this increases the frequency of such thoughts. For example, if someone says “Don‘t think about the white bear.“, you most likely will have a difficult time getting the white bear to leave your thoughts. Or, if someone says “Don‘t be nervous.“, your anxiety will remain, and often increase.
Conversely, the Blue Dolphin Rule refers to trying to replace an uwanted thought with a new thought, a distraction thought. This is very effective in making unwanted thoughts go away. This reminds me of the movie, The Sound of Music. and the song “My Favorite Things”. “If I simply remember my favorite things then I don’t feel so bad….”
Well, I am going to give it a try! I think it may work.
About Me
Life is precious, capture its beauty. I am lucky to have a loving family, and wonderful friends. Like everyone, I have good days and bad days, happy days and sad days, patient days and crabby days, beautiful days and ugly days, etc. I try to “hold the bright side up” as much as I can because it makes me feel better, and I think it helps others feel better too. I am so far from perfect, but I try to be kind and respectful. I truly believe that life is precious and that there are so many extraordinary ordinary people and moments in life. I want to share and celebrate the “extraordinary ordinary” through my writing and photography. Please check out my photos at Fine Art America Photography https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/35-laura-smith; at Adobe Stock at https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/207669601/Laura%20Jean%20Smith or at Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/g/LauraJSmith. Perhaps you will find something you would like to have as your own?
